The Birthday Ever
by CarpeDiemEveryday
Summary: Twoshot. Unexpected surprises can sweeten or sour one's birthday... AAML And the title doesn't want to cooperate, it should be 'The blank line Birthday Ever'.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone, I'm back! And for those of you who opened this story with trepidation, well, trust me, this is nothing, let me say that louder, NOTHING like the D.C. story. So read on without fear!**

**I'm thinking this should be a twoshot, but hey, we'll have to just see. Anyways, this story is dedicated to PikaForce, who in what was one of the most inspirational messages I've ever gotten mentioned she'd like to see some 'serious' PokeShipping. What, like Ash screaming about ghosts all over the Capitol Building isn't serious? Well, reading that back, you may have a point... hope this does this for you and everyone else!**

**DISCLAIMER: Satoshi Tajiri is the owner of Pokemon, and try as I might, the letters of my name just don't match. Bummer.

* * *

**

**The _____ Birthday Ever

* * *

**

Misty panted as she reached the crest of the hill. Pausing to catch her breath, she ran her fingers nervously through her ponytail. She wondered why she felt this way. After all, he was just her friend, always had been. Never mind that every time he grinned at her, it was like falling, both the good kind where you have a parachute, and the kind where you pull the cord and nothing happens…

The redhead straightened. "Okay, if metaphors say anything about you, then I need some serious help," she muttered, surveying the land beneath her, specifically at one house. Taking a deep, calming breath, she began to run down the hill, pondering her feelings as the wind rushed past her.

It was ridiculous, she decided, to deny her feelings much longer. Though he was admittedly idiotic at times, and yes, they did have their conflicts, but even so, Misty was mature enough to see that Ash Ketchum meant much more to her than a friend. But therein lay the problem, she reflected, reaching the base of the hill and pausing once more for a breather. She and Ash had been friends for so long, six whole years, that it could very well be considered too long.

She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and sighed. Ash was practically certified in stupidity and obliviousness, and a whole host of other unpleasantries, things which had helped her lie to herself, tell herself that he was just the obnoxious brother she'd never had. But underneath all of that was a person who seemed to truly care, and it was that person who Misty usually thought about, the charming knight in shining armor type who would always be there for her.

Having gotten her breath back again, she jogged over to his house. Outside stood Mimey, who was industriously sweeping the front walkway. When the Pokemon spotted Misty, he dropped his broom in excitement. Misty chuckled.

"Hey, Mimey, good to see you! Can you let Ash know I'm here, please?"

The Mr. Mime nodded, scurrying back into the house leaving the broom behind. Misty leaned the broom gently against a fence, then stood waiting. It had been awhile, she realized, since she had visited Ash. But then again, she had been busy, and so had he. But today was special, and she had specifically scheduled herself a free afternoon in honor of it.

Soon enough, a familiar head poked itself out of the door, followed by the rest of Ash. Misty was slightly disconcerted to see that he had grown taller, taller than her, even. _That's not allowed_, she thought to herself. But that was drowned out by the simple happiness that crashed over her, just at seeing her friend's face again.

"ASH!" she screamed, charging at him and tackling him with a hug. She grinned, savoring the moment.

A moment which, sadly, was shattered by a sharp, questioning voice.

"Ash, who is _that_?" Misty stiffened, loosening her hold on Ash and turning to the source, standing in the doorway and scowling. It was a girl, a bit shorter than Misty, dressed in a fashionable -- not to mention _form-fitting_ -- black-and-pink outfit. Her hair seemed to be a dark blue, matching her eyes. Eyes which were staring down at Misty, despite the height difference.

Still with her arms around Ash, Misty raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The blue-haired girl flicked her hair back expertly. "The name's Dawn, D-A-W-N, and I'll have you know you're hanging all over my boyfriend. Now, Ash, be a darling and tell me who this… person is!"

Misty was falling, and no matter how hard she pulled, her parachute simply refused to come free.

She concealed this, though, and answered for Ash, letting go of him and stepping back a bit. "Oh, don't worry, Dawn, right? No, I'm just an old friend, sister, more like, I'm sure he'd tell you." She began backing down the path back to the road. "So, um, I'm clearly interrupting something, and I wouldn't want to do that, or else _I'd_ have to hunt up a girlfriend for Ash, and trust me, that is definitely not on my to-do list. So, yeah, happy sweet sixteenth, Ash, many happy returns!" And with that, she turned and shot off, back towards the hill, leaving the two behind.

She managed to keep her emotions in check until reaching the summit of the hill. Then, as she ran down the hill, towards her house at the foot, the tears flowed seemingly out of nowhere and wouldn't stop.

It was bad enough that he had a girlfriend, Misty decided as she ran like the wind down, down, down the hill. It was bad enough that she dressed like a cheerleader and acted like one to boot. It was bad enough that she was admittedly pretty, and that's probably how she'd managed to snag Ash. But the worst of it all, she realized, was that he had said nothing. Nothing at all.

Ash watched as the redhead disappeared over the top of the hill. He then turned to Dawn. "Um, she seems kind of upset."

Dawn stared at him. "That's seriously all you can say? 'Oh, um, gee, she seems kid of upset'?"

"Now, Dawn, that's not an exact quote," Ash objected, but Dawn was not to be put off.

"Ash Ketchum, you're an idiot! I only agreed to this to try and get you two together, not rip you two apart! Speaking of which, can I PLEASE put some pants on? I feel really uncomfortable dressed like this!"

"Wait, what?" Ash asked confusedly.

Dawn looked ready to strangle him. "Ash. This stupid, appallingly stupid scheme of yours has pretty much blown any chance you're ever going to have with her! I did exactly as you said, because you described her as someone who needs to attack people with words. But you know what? You know what Ash? You don't understand girls at all! You just broke her heart, and I have no clue how you intend to rectify this situation. Now, if you will _excuse me_, Mr. 'Hey Dawn, will you be my fake nasty girlfriend so I can get my crush jealous', I am going to go change into sweats. This skirt makes me feel slutty."

With that, she turned, slamming the door behind her. Ash stared, perplexed, at the wooden door. "This has to be one of the worst birthdays ever," he mumbled, sinking to his knees in the middle of the walkway, wondering how in one day, he had managed to break the only girl he'd ever loved.

* * *

**End of Chapter One: The Worst Birthday Ever

* * *

**

**So I hope this story balances the scales for the D.C. fic which all you serious PokeShippers seem to be less-than-fond-of. I think it does, but I can't read your minds. Thus, you need to review! Please and thank you!**

**So long for now,**

**Carp  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, will you look at that, I wrote the second chapter! And I have nothing else to say, so let's disclaim and roll!**

**DISCLAIMER: Just in case you didn't know, my name isn't a clever anagram of Satoshi Tajiri, you know, the guy who actually owns Pokemon? Yeah, let's see, I don't have any S's, T's, O's, H's, or J's. So yeah, nope, don't own. Boo hoo and all that which you don't care about so instead you may read.  


* * *

**

Dawn hesitated, then tapped softly on the door. She waited. Nothing. She knocked again, a bit more forcefully this time. Still nothing. She sighed, then turned and glared at a large topiary Psyduck. "Now what?" she hissed, playing nervously with strands of her navy ponytail.

Ash peered out from behind the decorative bush. "I dunno, maybe she can't hear you," he offered.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Really. You really believe that? You think she can't hear? Did it occur to you that she knows full well you're here and is just ignoring you because you, Ash Ketchum, messed up big ti-"

"Shh!" Ash broke in hurriedly. He cocked his head to one side, straining to hear -- there it was again! A soft, gentle creaking, coming from the backyard. He knew that sound, knew it from a thousand days' worth of summers long gone. He motioned for Dawn, who apparently had heard it too, and she tiptoed over to him.

"What is that?" she whispered.

Ash sighed, yanking his hat down to shade his eyes. "Porch swing. In the back. Can you-"

But Dawn was already rounding the corner of the house. Ash waited a moment, then crept to the edge of the house, listening.

Misty lay curled on her porch swing, face buried in the seat cushion, shaking slightly as she tried to stem her tears. She was calming down, she realized. At least, she was crying less as she focused on taking deep, even breaths.

Suddenly, a twig snapped, and the redhead's spine stiffened. She rolled over and, shading her eyes from the sudden burst of sunlight, saw Dawn cringing slightly in her backyard. Misty stared at her, that girl who had taken Ash away. For whatever reason, she was now wearing sweats instead of that ridiculous miniskirt, but that wasn't all that important to Misty at the moment. What did matter was that this little tramp was standing in her yard, uninvited.

"Wh-what do you want?" Misty asked, trying to maintain an indifferent attitude, but failing as her voice trembled slightly.

Dawn twisted her hands together. "Um, I just wanted to say-"

"Sit down," Misty interrupted, surprising both of them. She scooted over, gesturing to where her feet had been.

Dawn glanced apprehensively at the seat, then nodded and sat. "Um, well, I came here to-"

"How did Mimey treat you today?" Misty cut the other girl off, still in that cold voice, now without a tremor at all.

Dawn looked confused. "Uh, well, normally, I guess-"

"Define normally."

The other girl's eyebrows furrowed. "Just friendly, you know?"

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Dawn suddenly blurted out, "Misty, what you saw, that wasn't-"

But Misty held up a hand, silencing her. "No. It doesn't matter anymore."

"How can you say that?"

Both of the girls jumped, startled, as Ash dashed round the corner. "How can you say that, Misty?" he repeated, coming to a stop in front of her.

The redhead's face was an expressionless mask. "Hello, Ash. Come to get your girlfriend?"

Ash blinked, then nodded. "Yes, actually." But he made no move towards Dawn. Instead he walked slowly to where Misty sat rigid. Stopping in front of her, he held out a hand.

She stared at it blankly. "But - but - aren't you with her?" she stuttered, jerking a thumb at Dawn, who rolled her eyes.

"As if. I was trying to tell you that this was all an act, and that Ash was just trying to make you jealous, because he's had a crush on you since - mmph!"

Dawn's little speech was interrupted by Ash's hand, which clamped around her mouth. Blushing, he let her go, turning to Misty. "And on top of everything, she talks too much," he muttered. Misty giggled in spite of herself. Ash then hesitated. "So, um, I'm really sorry, and I could have done this a lot better, uh, can you maybe forgive me?" He gazed hopefully at Misty.

Her face hardened, and she rose from the porch swing, advancing towards him as he cowered. Then, she smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I already have," she whispered softly. Then she pulled back, cheeks turning a bit pink. "Um, well, Ash, I was originally going to give you your present at your house, but we got a bit, um, sidetracked, so, uh, now seems like a good time, so…"

Ash blinked. "Aw, Mist, you didn't have to get me anything!" Then he glanced around. "Where is it? I don't see anything."

Misty smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Oh, Ash, you're so clueless." Then, before her courage failed her, she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips.

He stared, then grinned, grabbed her by the arms and replied with a real kiss. Misty wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the moment. Behind them, Dawn smiled, happy for her friend, then tiptoed away so that they could enjoy their happily-ever-after.

* * *

**End of Chapter Two: The Best Birthday Ever

* * *

**

**End, The

* * *

**

**Now, was that clichéd? Most likely yes. Do I care? Not particularly, I wrote this for the fun of it. And now I can fear all you serious shippers telling me to take this more seriously... which reminds me. O lovely anonymous reviewer who thought a really creative name would be 'Name'? I only have this to say: Well, at least I don't repulse you. XP**

**Which also reminds me, review, please and thank you! Tell me I'm not mature enough for 'serious' PokeShipping, I don't care, just review!**

**Thanks for reading, it's been fun,**

**Carp  
**


End file.
